Michael Johns, the Australian blue-eyed soul crooner of American Idol Season 7, has died at age 35. While the singer’s family has not yet issued an official cause-of-death statement, sources have told The Hollywood Reporter it was a blood clot in his ankle. Johns is the first Idol top 10 finalist to pass away in the show’s 13-season history.

Ballroom With A Twist

Saturday, June 21

Val Chmerkovskiy & Anna Trebunskaya

BALLROOM WITH A TWIST is the hot new stage show starring Dancing With The Stars pros, So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol finalists. A frenzy of sizzling dance moves spanning samba, waltz, foxtrot, quickstep and jive. It’s a who’s who of the dance world that come together for an evening of grace, athleticism and passion.

Are you the next American Idol? Here’s your chance to start the journey! Thunder Valley will host a round of auditions for “American Idol” at the Outdoor Amphitheater, site of the Summer Concert Series. One person will win a guaranteed audition pass at the regional auditions in San Francisco on July 16.

Come to sing, or come to listen. The gates open at 6:30AM, and auditions will run from 7AM to 11AM. Admission is free. Plus, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s mobile learning center with interactive displays will be parked at the entrance.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged to secure an audition spot! Must be 15 to 28 years old on June 2, 2013 to participate. For more details and to pre-register, please visit Fox 40 here.

Nick Jonas 19, is looking forward to sharing the American Idol stage with singer/actress Mariah Carey. According to, E!News the Jonas Brothers singer told fans he’s in the running for a seat at the famed judges’ table, tweeting Saturday, “The rumors are true…I am being considered to be a judge on American Idol, and it would be a dream come true if it happens. ‪#nickonidol.”

What Super Sensation Adam Lambert? He should have been considered before Jonas all fairness, Lambert was a contestant and knows what it takes to get the job done. Aretha Franklin should have been chosen over Mariah Carey.

According to New York Post Davis said, “I wasn’t out before the relationship, but I wasn’t in,” Davis, 33, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “I dated men and women, though lesbians weren’t feeling the bisexual thing.

According to New York Post, Chris Daughtry is set to face-off in court with three former bandmates who claim they are owed royalties from a number of his songs, including the hit single “Home.”

Ryan Andrews, Scott Crawford and Mark Perry — who joined Daughtry in the band Absent Element before he went on to national fame on the TV talent show, have filed a lawsuit in the Greensboro, NC, Guilford County Superior Court, the Charlotte Observer reported.

The lawsuit claims, “All four members wrote music and lyrics for Absent Element’s songs, collaborated on the arrangement and recording of those songs, regularly consulted with each other on matters relating to the business of the band, and made partnership decisions based on majority votes.”

As well as “Home,” the trio claim they had a part in Daughtry’s songs “Breakdown,” “Conviction” and “Sinking.” According to, New York Post Newscore.

According to New York Post, Broadway legend and former “Eight is Enough” star Betty Buckley launched a Twitter tirade against “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson Thursday night, for his habit of dismissing the show’s failed singers as “too Broadway.”

Buckley feels that in disparaging Broadway, Jackson displays an ignorance of singing styles, and casts an inappropriately negative light on the Great White Way.

“Broadway is a place, not a style of singing,” Buckley tells the Post. “Whenever he doesn’t like something, he just throws in that ‘this is a Broadway voice.’ I don’t know how many Broadway shows Randy Jackson has been to, but clearly not many, because there’s a wide variety of shows on Broadway.”

According to Media Decoder “American Idol” may have officially crossed over from phenomenon to mere hit television show on Thursday, as the second outing of this year’s edition fell a steep 27 percent in the ratings from its performance on the same night last year – and 44 percent from its number two years ago.

Those figures are among the 18-to-49-year-old viewers who draw the most advertising dollars to the show. The results point to the kind of erosion that eventually affects just about every long-running show on television.

Initially, “Idol” appeared to have been beaten — narrowly — in the 8 to 8:30 p.m. half-hour by the CBS comedy hit “The Big Bang Theory,” which had a 5.2 rating in that 18-49 audience compared to a 5.1 for “Idol.” But adjusted national numbers indicated that the show had actually tied “Big Bang” with a 5.2 for the half-hour.

Those numbers were further adjusted Friday afternoon and showed “Big Bang” had indeed edged ahead with a 5.3 to a 5.2. The win was significant because no previous CBS entertainment show has finished ahead of “Idol” in those 18-49 viewers.

“Idol” scored a 6.3 rating for its second half-hour and averaged a 5.7 rating in the 18-49 measure for the full 8 to 9 p.m. hour, down from a 7.8 last year. That is a worse percentage falloff than the show experienced on Wednesday night, and it may be a signal that viewers will not latch on to the series this year as they have in the past. Perhaps most telling, two years ago on its second night of the season, “Idol” had a 10.1 rating.

In terms of total viewers, “Idol” was down a bit less, 21 percent from last year. It averaged 18 million on Thursday, down from 22.9 million a year ago.

By any standard, “Idol” remains a hit, but its power is clearly diminished. One effect can be seen in the 9 p.m. hour on Thursday, when “Idol” was not able to help a new drama, “The Finder.” The Fox network easily won the 8 p.m. hour with “Idol,” but it fell to last place in the 9 p.m. hour.

In my opinion Season 8 was the best Idol ever, Adam Lambert was Outstanding and should have been the winner, on the other hand he is a winner. No American Idol For Me.

According to ABC News, David Archuleta will be taking a 2-year music break to serve a full-time, two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“It’s not because someone told me that I’m supposed to do it, and not because I no longer want to do music, but because it’s the feeling that I’ve felt I need to do this with my life,” Archuleta, 20, said to a crowd that showered him with applause and cheers. Archuleta was American Idol 2007 runner-up David Cook was the winner.

According to The Boot, Lauren Alaina is headed to Memphis to flip the switch at Elvis Presle’s Graceland, kicking off the holiday season by illuminating the iconic estate’s elaborate Christmas display, which includes hundreds of blue lights along the driveway and a life-size nativity scene. The celebration takes place on Nov. 18 and will be broadcast live on Elvis.com at 6:00 PM CT.

American Idol second season winner Ruben Studdard and his wife is calling it quits. Studdard and McCants who cite “irreconcilable differences” as reason the marriage has ended. The couple got married in 2008 in Birmingham, Ala., They met in 2006 when Studdard was signing CD’s in Atlanta, Ga.

Judge Randy Jackson told American Idol Haley Reinhart she was a “Winner’ Reinhart is the first contestant on stage with a parent, her father was playing the guitar. Lauren wears too much make-up. Steve could be on RuPaul’s Drag Race he is so handsome..